‘Premium Rush’ spin meisters

Bicycles messengers welcome at pic's premiere

If any New Yorker’s messenger service was delayed on Aug. 22, blame it on the preem of Columbia’s “Premium Rush” at the Regal Union Square.

Several bike messengers with cameos in the pic took time off to attend the screening, and, of course, they all arrived on their two-wheelers.

Director and co-writer David Koepp has a whole new respect for bike messengers. “I thought like anybody does, because they pass within 6 inches of your nose and you never see it coming, I thought who are those assholes and what is wrong with them?” he said. But no longer. “I was really fascinated by them, and found they have a really clear ethos. They want to ride their bike; if they can get paid to ride it, so much the better, and it’s better to ride a bike than drive a car.”

Said the pic’s Jamie Chung, “I thought they were extinct. I had no idea. “I certainly notice them now.”

Co-star Dania Ramirez, who plays a messenger in the pic, had a close encounter with a biker. “I actually got hit by a bike messenger one time in New York City when I used to live here,” she recalled. “Honestly, it was probably my fault. Now that I’ve had to ride a bike all over New York City, I realize pedestrians are dangerous. Everybody’s on a mission and on their phone and not really paying attention.”

During the screening, the bikers were hard to miss as they hooted and hollered and threw popcorn every time a friend appeared onscreen.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is a big fan, and always has been. “I grew up in L.A. where it’s such a car culture and I don’t really have any affection for cars,” he said. “I always thought bike messengers were so cool because they could beat the car.”

Even though Gordon-Levitt went flying through the rear windshield of a cab during filming, he still enjoyed the overall experience. “It’s fun as hell and really tiring,” he noted.